Bottom Panel Join

Life has not provided much project time lately.  But the other day, I managed to sneak enough time to make the final cut in the bottom panels.  I had misinterpreted the plans, thinking that the bottom of the canoe was formed from a single tortured panel.  It was very confusing, trying to imagine how you could possibly force the plywood to take the shape I knew it needed to take.  Eventually, I realized (thanks, Terry!) that the bottom is actually two panels stitched together at an angle.  It all makes so much more sense now.

Today, favored with good weather and a little free time, I set up my makeshift bench outside and used it to bond the 4 bottom panel halves into 2 bottom panels.   I skipped the boat nails this time, because the shortest bronze ring nails I could get are a little longer than two thicknesses of my plywood.  This made the clamping stage a little bit fiddly, but I made it work by using the arrangement shown in the photo below.

Having sworn last time not to skimp on epoxy when joining panels, I made far too much this time.  It was thickened with ground fiberglass, but it seemed to work acceptably, so I used the remainder to coat the panels.  Spreading it seemed to work the glass fiber out of the mix, so that it behaved more like regular epoxy.  Hopefully, it won't be too messy to sand smooth and recoat later.

The powder/epoxy mix didn't come close to covering the entire surface I had laid out, so I mixed up another batch of plain epoxy and coated everything.  It was the first coat on the bottom panels; I have a couple other pieces waiting for coat #1, and then everything will need a second coat before I can begin stitching things together.

A few other items:

• I scored a Ryobi random-orbit sander for $5 at a church rummage sale.  Random-orbit sanders are optimal for finish work because they produce more regular finshed surfaces than non-random-orbit models.  Great deal!
• My system for hanging the work in the porch ceiling is really poor.  I threaded some rope through pieces of PVC pipe and expected it to stay level as I hoisted it up, but it wants to flip over instead.  I'll need to work out a better answer before too long.
• A friend who's into windsurfing is giving me a 2-piece carbon mast with damage to the joint.  If I can repair the damage, I could have a very light, very strong spar for the crabclaw sail.  I like this idea because it means less weight aloft, which makes it harder to capsize the canoe.  Now I just need another broken windsurfer mast for the other spar....